Preview - 2002 Motocross of Nations.

It has not been the smoothest of roads but the 2002 Motocross of Nations is ready to commence this weekend at the Bellpuig circuit in Spain.

The 56th incarnation of the traditional end of season International tournament of Motocross had to suffer a late date and venue change but finally all systems are 'go' for this historic and prestigious event to get under-way this Saturday in Catalonia.

Defending Champions France will have sweet memories of Namur last season when the country lifted the trophy for the first time in the history of the competition.

French Motocross is currently going through a strong phase with 250cc World Champion Mickael Pichon claiming his second title in dominant fashion this year. Mickael Maschio also claimed the 125cc crown for Kawasaki; the first time that two Frenchman have won World Championships in the same season. The three man team of Christophe Martin, Serge Guidetty and Thierry Bethys may not be the strongest possible line-up for the French but the trio will have a lot of honour to defend and all three are experienced Grand Prix riders.

Favourites for overall victory have to be the Italians with two members of their squad present in their first and only Nations victory in 1999 in the forms of Andrea Bartolini (also 500cc World Champion in that season) and Alessio Chiodi (125cc number one in 1999). Along with Alex Puzar the Italians boast a haul of six world titles between them.

Another country also likely to figure amongst the leading positions will be Finland with their strong GP contingent of Jussi Vehvilainen, Marko Kovalainen and Antti Pyrhonen.

Other stars finishing their 2002 Motocross season on Sunday include: 250cc GP winner Gordon Crockard racing for Ireland, 500cc number three and GP winner Javier Garcia Vico for Spain, Joaquim Rodrigues for Portugal, Danny Theybers for Belgium and 500cc GP regulars Jonny Lindhe and Jocke Karlsson for Sweden.

20 nations in total will be racing this weekend from around the world. Along with France the list reads: Belgium, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Finland, Italy, Sweden, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Latvia, Denmark, Switzerland, Croatia, Guatemala, Morocco, Slovakia, Venezuela.

The Nations undergoes a rule and format change for 2002. The three moto structure of three engine classifications (125cc, 250cc and Open) has been switched to two 'Finals' of any classification the riders wishes to use, with all three team members racing at the same time. A qualifying and semi-final process on Saturday and part of Sunday will determine the entry into the 'B' final before the main event 'A' final with the best two results of all three riders counting towards the final ranking of the Nations.

Great Britain (not entering this year) holds the record for the most Nations victories with 16 successes, the last arriving in 1994; they were also the first to win the event in 1947. The USA (also not entering at Bellpuig) are hot on the Brit's heels with 15 wins and a remarkable streak of 13 consecutive titles covering the whole of the 1980's.